NETBALL player Thea Cenarosa certainly has a tough job balancing her love for sports and the need to work and earn her living.

A member of the national netball team since 2015 after trying the game in 2014 when it was introduced here by Singapore as it was hosting the 2015 Southeast Asian Games and needed the participation of the Philippines, the pretty 31-year-old Cenarosa found the sport more difficult than basketball.

She had been playing on the varsity team of the National University, the Lady Bulldogs but still found netball’s many technical rules hard to master when she shifted to it after finishing her management course at NU.

Since that time, she has been a fixture on the national team, even being the designated shooter at one time.

“One problem for our sport is the lack of a standard playing venue, we are a bit bigger than a regular basketball court, and because of that, we also lack players, our base is still small but interms of achievement, the team has been making modest gains including a gold in the plate category of the Asian netball championship last year, “ related Cenarosa, a one-time Miss Maynilad, Binibining Olympics in the MVP Group Olympics, reached top 10in the 2019 Miss Earth, and a Binibining Pilipinas bet in 2020.

However, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has already provided the team just recently a permanent home, the Ninoy Aquino Stadium at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

The team is leaving this month for Singapore to play tube up games with club teams there as they prepare for their first ever stint in the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Ganes in Thailand set late this year, but Cenarosa is staying here due to pressure of her work in the real estate industry, but maintains her slot in the 24 woman training pool and says she is looking forward to the Thailand event .

“But I hope netball will be back for the 2025 SEA Games as netball is definitely included, unlike this year in Cambodia,” added Cenarosa. By Lito Cinco

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